Cafe Kneepkens

“Heavy downpours have caused flooding in parts of Wellington, impacting on some public transport services, forcing some road closures and the cancellation of some public events.“

This is the opening paragraph on our local news website this morning as we wake up to pouring rain, thunder and lightning. The advisory warning is to avoid travel if at all possible. Our rain gauge shows 40mm overnight and social media is awash with pictures of flooding. While Andre reaches for his galoshes because inside every grown man is a boy who wants to wade knee deep in flood waters, Rachael offers a more sober approach and it’s decided we would “go local”. In fact, we’re so local we don’t even have to leave the house. Yes folks…this week mother nature is calling in at Cafe Kneepkens!

You’ll find Cafe Kneepkens not far off State Highway 2 in the leafy suburb of Wallaceville in Upper Hutt. Set in park like grounds, it’s a modern brick building with a hint of neo classical architecture offset to a degree by post roman colonnades at it’s entrance. (I made all of that up so don’t hold me to it if you actually know anything about architecture!)

Parking is plentiful either out on the street or if you’re an early bird customer there’s room for 4 cars up the gravel drive. We’ll assume those are reserved for disabled and or staff parking although it’s not sign posted.

Once inside, we quickly notice the table seating is exclusive (one table with four chairs) so it might pay to book ahead for future visits. On this occasion we’ve struck it lucky and we’re the only customers! The tough economic times are reflected by staff numbers and there seems to only be one wait staff who has to attend to all duties associated with running a cafe. This is not a good sign. There is however free wifi which connects automatically to our phones!

Eventually we’re seated, we take a quick glance at the menu…it’s either pancakes or your choice of…pancakes?

We both decide on the pancakes and it’s up out of our seats to the PPS(Pancake Preparation Station) we go. To be fair…there are an impressive selection of toppings to choose from. Andre relives his childhood and adds raisins in the mixture(an old dutch family tradition), while Rachael goes traditional (no not scrambled eggs this time!)

Andre and Rachael both order a flat white but a quick once over of the coffee machine (see photo below) suggests they needn’t hold out much hope that it’s going to win any awards. One positive is that the coffee did arrive “instantly“.

The coffee machine was quiet and quick! Cappuccinos anyone?

It’s a flurry of activity as we take our turn at the PPS. There’s raspberries, bacon, banana, strawbs, spray cream in various flavours and of course…maple syrup.

Each meal becomes a work of delicious art as toppings are stacked one on top of the other. Andre is heard to mention “You won’t find better pancakes at any other cafe!” He also mutters something like “There’s one thing I don’t like about halloween, which is…” but the rest is lost in the scrape of cutlery on plate as everyone tucks in.

After about 15 minutes the plates are empty but the wait staff are slow to clear the table so as a sign of appreciation we decide to take our dishes to the kitchen. Andre asks if there are more customers booked for today but it seems not as the cafe closes when we leave. Boy were we ever lucky as it seemed to open when we arrived!

In conclusion…we decide to rate this cafe on several factors and award stars accordingly.

Atmosphere: Has a homely feel…5 stars

Dress code: So relaxed you can wear pyjamas!.. 5 stars

Coffee: Instantly arrived but…1 star.

Food: Fresh and delicious but limited menu…5 stars

Service: The one wait staff was exceptional but this cafe is seriously under resourced!.. 5 stars

Sierra Cafe

Queensgate Mall Lower Hutt

After a restless nights sleep our combined brain power failed to engage as to where we should review this week so a cunning plan was hatched to let technology help us out, as if it hasn’t already on many an occasion, and we both agreed that we would ask Siri to recommend the “best cafe in Petone”. We shook hands and swore an oath that we’d go with it no matter what! Imagine our surprise, and a little to Rachael’s displeasure, when the cafe BJ in Pattani came up as first choice. Andre did think his day was about to get off to a great start until Rachael pointed out that “Pattani” wasn’t actually in New Zealand and the budget wouldn’t stretch that far.

Once we refined our request, Siri politely informed us that the highest rating cafe in “Lower Hutt” was Sierra on Knights Road, although she had “no information about the rating” which did raise more questions than answers. The name seemed vaguely familiar to Andre although he couldn’t quite place it’s location. Rachael did a quick online search of the menu and the food pictures that came up more than whetted our appetite. Shaking off the covers and the cobwebs we were soon on our way south following the directions laid out by Siri. (side note…have you ever wondered if Siri gives the same directions on two different phones? To Andre’s boy brain this was a science experiment too good to pass up so after some badgering from Andre and some reluctance from Rach she asks Siri for directions to the same destination. Results at the end of the blog)

Those of you who are familiar with Lower Hutt will not be surprised to learn the route to Knights Road has taken us dangerously close to Queensgate Mall, in fact it’s so close we end up “arriving at our destination” in the Countdown Supermarket parking area. It’s painfully obvious the “best cafe in Lower Hutt” is inside the Mall! We quickly examine the fine print of the contract we entered into regarding “come what may, whatever cafe Siri recommends we gotta go there!” The clauses are watertight and with reluctance we venture inside.

Sierra is one of those “in the middle of the concourse” style cafes. There’s no industrial size kitchen belching out orders faster than Santa can climb down a chimney, so what you see in the cabinet is pretty much what you get. While the selection wasn’t large, the food did look well presented, reasonably fresh and there was an option to add a salad to most items.

Rachael ordered a cheese and onion toasted sandwich on 5 grain bread while Andre settled on a pumpkin and filo tart with salad. This was complimented by a slice of carrot cake and a almond and apricot slice, all washed down with EBT and a regular flat white.

We found a table in a corner, although in a shop without walls I use that description figuratively. In fact we are more at the prow of an island where the human flotsam and jetsam drift past on either side on their way to wherever. It’s not long in and we see a familiar face. Linda coincidentally walks past and is soon seated at our table with a drink and cheese rolls. We enjoy a catchup and time slips by pleasantly.

Eventually we take our leave and promise to all have a meal together again soon. As we walk through the shops to spot any early Christmas bargains we agree the cafe gets a 3 star rating. The selection isn’t large but there’s enough to recharge energy levels for most flagging shoppers plus the service was perfunctory and reasonably speedy. The food quality was as expected although nothing memorable. We did think we saw some mall employees dressed as characters from the Nutcracker ballet but upon closer inspection they turned out to actually be just nuts. You never know what you’ll see in a mall in New Zealand!

Oh and yes..Siri gives exactly the same directions at exactly the same time on two different phones. It’s like Siri in stereo!

Village Green Cafe PLUS Coffee@Crosses

Havelock North

Another trip north this weekend, back to where the acreage of vineyards is matched only by the size of the traffic roundabouts…yes we’re back in Hawkes Bay. I’m not sure if we may have mentioned in a previous post but our elite athlete Rachael has been training hard for a triathlon over the past 12 months and the weekend of the great event is finally upon us. (Ok just to be clear, Rach is one of a team of three doing the cycle leg of a quarter triathlon. Still…we’re all so proud of her efforts!)

While we’re here we call in at two cafe’s, both situated in the picturesque town of Havelock North, known for art, honey and Te Mata peak.

The first of our visits is post race at the Village Green. With the outside temperature hitting 29 degrees no one is keen on coffees so it’s Kombuchas and coke all round.

We’re a large party, eight in total, but seating isn’t a problem as we pull up a few chairs from surrounding tables. Despite, or possibly because of 45 cycling kilometers behind her, Rach hasn’t found her appetite and orders pancakes off the kids menu while Andre tucks into a Halloumi sandwich. The rest of our party order a variety of dishes but we won’t concern ourselves with those as there are too many to mention. Suffice to say after everyone downs their meals a quick survey shows an average score of 4 out of 5 stars and that’s what we’ll be giving the Village Green. The place was clean, welcoming and the service was speedy given the size of our group. Our waiter even put his life on the line by climbing onto a chair to take a group photo…can’t ask for more than that!

Andre wants to point out that his Halloumi sandwich was excellent and takes the award for “Meal of the Weekend”. High praise indeed!

The following morning, and with a smaller crew of three, we wend our way wearily back to Havey (what the locals call Havelock North I believe). We pass a striking looking stone building with a flag outside declaring it as a cafe so pull in to the ample carpark. Once Summer (Rach’s daughter) and Andre help a very stiff and broken Rachael from the car and gingerly direct her toward the entrance, we find this cafe is called Coffee@XX, or coffee at the crosses. Undoubtedly there is some entertaining tale as to what this name means but we have no time to discover it as we order pancakes times 3 with EBT.

The lady who brings us our food is friendly, helpful and apologetic as Andre sends his cutlery back. It turns out he’s no fan of dried egg between the fork tines but all is quickly forgotten as the meals are sumptuous and tasty. Of interest is a small side dish of something that appears to be a blend of cream cheese, butter and yoghurt. None of us can decide if we’ve ever encountered it before but we all agree it’s outstanding!

Note the small dish with what looks like cheesy yoghurt! Delish!

There’s a small corner for the kids with toys and books which is a nice touch, plus free wifi which is easy to connect to as details are on the menu. Although not burning during our visit a generous gas fire would no doubt make this a cosy little place to visit on a cold winters day. All up we decide this is a 4 star experience. So with a four hour trip ahead, we gently lift Rachael back into the front seat and off we go. The conversation turns to how much we should sell her bicycle for on trademe, as Havey shrinks in the rear view mirror.

Bus stop Cafe

Te Horo Beach

As the country celebrates another Labour Weekend holiday, spare a thought for those essential services that continue to toil day in and day out so that you, dear reader can continue to enjoy the lifestyles we have become accustomed to. I refer, of course, to emergency services and cafe reviewers everywhere. No holiday for us as we again head north of Wellington to a small seaside pinprick on a map called Te Horo beach in search of an eatery called Bus stop cafe, where we have been invited by our good friends the Edmonds family, Wendy, Simon, their daughters Kate, Ellen and their two grandchildren, Henry and Scarlett.

Neither of us are familiar with this area 3km west of state highway one and we require some gentle guidance from Siri to locate what would otherwise be a very obscure farmgate leading into the cafe carpark. Once parked we’re still not too sure of our final destination as everywhere we look there’s farmland and country gardens. Eventually we spot a path and it quickly takes us to a beautifully tucked away setting where the first thing you’ll notice is a rather large blue bus circa early 1960’s. Dotted around are buildings and shelters of varying sizes with chairs and tables able to cater for intimate couples to larger groups of 12 or more depending on the size of your party.

If you’re looking for something a little different then this place is for you! I immediately felt at home and memories of Nambasa and Sweetwaters began to stir in the recesses of my mind. (Google those two names and you’ll see why the bus and it’s setting are comparable) There’s something here for everyone, the oldies can sit and chat and the younger set can explore to their heart’s content.

The menu although rather limited, changes often and for our group it’s mainly donuts, cheese scones and toasted sandwiches all round, although there are other options to appease the more discerning palate.

Looks like asparagus and goats cheese tart is sold out!

The food arrives quickly despite Andre giving a “fake” name when ordering at the counter in the bus and it’s all a bit awkward as it seems there’s already another customer who’s also used the name “Andrew”. (Next time Andre why don’t you give a fake name that’s a little less common…try Raoul!)

The food is incredibly delicious and it’s a great 90 minutes or so of chatter and chewing while the kids explore and the world continues on unnoticed outside this small enclave of peace.

You’ll notice…everything arrives on paper plates! While that’s a little unusual for a cafe it’s because an industrial dishwasher can’t be accommodated on a bus so it’s a tidy solution. The paper plates are composted onsite so nothing ends up at the landfill. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here’s sixty thousand!

And finally…we all agreed this place is 5 star! Particularly Henry who felt right at home!

Oh…almost forgot. My little gift to you…altogether now and it seems only appropriate.

“The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round…”

Cafe Rome

Main Street, Upper Hutt

This week we are back on track with visiting our local cafe hotspots, and after a week of gastro and long hours of work at our place, decided to pick somewhere close to home. Our thoughts turned to Cafe Rome, a previously much loved coffee stop for the two of us.

When we first moved to Upper Hutt, Cafe Rome was the first cafe we tried, and we loved it so much we went there almost every weekend for about 12 months. Unfortunately, one evening we decided to pop in for a quick bite to eat (back in the day, when they had a dinner menu), and unwittingly gate crashed an expensive, black tie, private event. Let’s just say the background saxophone, quiet murmur of stock exchange convo and chink of champagne glasses abruptly came to a halt. The owner took one look at our jandals, shorts and singlets and politely asked us to either pay the $200 admission fee or leave. It was 50/50 which way we would go, but in the end we decided the wine list didn’t match the menu too well, and we were best to hit up Fishtown around the corner.

Anyway… back to today… We decided the humiliation of previous experiences was well behind us, and it was time to venture back. Full of bravado and suitably attired, we pushed open the door of the cafe, loudly announcing our arrival with a round of cheerful hellos and beaming smiles, to be greeted with … silence. Two disenchanted cafe staff stood behind the counter, while a third raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, projecting silent pity towards our lame entrance.
If we thought our days of looking like a pair of awkward third former’s were over, we were mistaken. Suddenly, we felt like one of those kids that turn up to a pajama party, and didn’t get the memo everyone else would be wearing black jeans and a hoodie.

The awkward silence stretched on while we made a bit of a show of looking at the cabinet food, hoping like heck someone would take pity and rescue us from our painfully awkward entrance. Finally our knight in shining facial piercings came out from behind the counter and offered us a seat. Phew!

Now for the menu. Bacon and eggs have been a bit of a theme for the last 20 weeks or so. You may be getting sick of hearing about them, but not as sick as Rachael is of eating them. So, in a break from tradition, it’s pancakes with berries and cream for Rachael, and French toast and bacon for Andre.

Our EB tea and flatwhite beverages arrived within seconds (there was a wine list we could choose from too, however, we decided we were messy enough without adding 10am alcohol to the mix).

Our food arrived in reasonable time, and seemed to accurately match the description on the menu board. Andre was happy with his fodder (what can we say – he is pretty much a happy kind of guy). Rachael (of course) was a little more dubious. Let’s just say, the tinned strawberries and cream from a can were probably less imaginative than an impromptu date night, and the rubbery pancakes were even less desirable.

We would describe Cafe Rome’s decor as ‘eclectic’. The art work ranges from hand painted canvases, to tin flowers, from wooden bull sculptures to Disney cushions on a leather couch. There is little room to get around the tables and the cafe is incredibly dark, with lighting so low, it’s the perfect place to come if you’re worried your foundation doesn’t quite match your skin tone – no one will ever notice!

It may seem as though this reviewer is a little disgruntled, and you may be thinking we are holding onto past embarrassments from our unceremonious eviction from a swanky dinner party. Please be reassured we went with high hopes and no hard feelings, however, Cafe Rome failed to impress this time round.

We are nothing if not fair, and feel it is only right to mention the service from the sophisticated young chap who served us, which was faultless. Let’s face it – anyone these days who still refers to an older gentleman as ‘Sir’ gets a big tick in our eyes. This guy added an extra star to our rating for sure!

OVERALL: 3 Stars.

Dunshea’s Deli

Burma Rd, Khandallah

Some of our readers have asked “How do you decide which cafe to review?” Well, I’m about to let you into a trade secret and the answer is…there is no secret! This weeks review is a good example. The conversation in our house goes somewhat like this…

Andre: “Where shall we go tomorrow?”

Rachael: “I drove past a cafe in Kandallah called Dunshea’s last week when I went to visit a school. Shall we go there?”

Andre: “Ok.”

And so we find ourselves looking for a park within comfortable walking distance smack bang in the middle of Khandallah, a relatively affluent suburb high on the hills above Wellington City.

For those of you who have never been to Khandallah, the roads are winding and often narrow so parking is a problem, but with our usual luck we snaffle one right outside which is just as well as Andre is in the middle of a gout attack and walking any distance is difficult.

Dunshea’s is an unassuming little building with little street appeal and while there is some outdoor seating, it’s limited and not particularly inviting on this bleak and cold morning. Of course we are not here for the alfresco experience so we head indoors. The seating situation doesn’t improve much once we’re in and we find ourselves have to *horror of horrors* SHARE with another larger group at a large central table. They all seem nice and we rub along well enough while we wait for our food.

I’m sure if you’ve been following our blog you can guess what Rachael has ordered while Andre looks forward to his black pudding with potatoes and poached egg. We each take a caramel slice and friand from the cabinet to keep us sustained during our wait for drinks and meals.

Having enjoyed our tea and coffee the “mains” arrive. Things are a little tight as we’re sandwiched in between our new best buddies at the table and the counter where customers stand waiting to order. It’s like eating a meal while an audience stands about and looks on…a little unnerving.

Andre’s black pudding is delicious but the real star on his plate are the fried potatoes. Cooked to perfection! Rachael is less enthusiastic about her scrambled eggs. The whole meal is rather bland and forgettable. So much so in fact that Rachael nominates her caramel slice for “highlight of the visit”. Andre also highly recommends his friand. It’s tasty and ever so slightly chewy on the outside yet fluffy and creamy in the middle…perfect!

Once we’ve made our way through our meals we hit the road and each of us presents our rating and supporting arguments to the other. Unfortunately for Dunshea’s, the results come in and it’s not good news. Rachael awards 2 stars and Andre settles on 3 so we decide to split the difference and it’s 2.5 this week. The lack of seating, Rachael’s sub par meal and cramped conditions count against this cafe. There was no music playing to add atmosphere and no wifi as far as we could tell, so don’t bother bringing a teenager along unless you like to hear the sound of complaining. If you were to go there during warmer months when more customers are out and about there must be a real chance that you wouldn’t get a table at all.

Rachael’s highlight: The caramel slice

Andre’s highlight: The friand and the potatoes

Star Rating: 2.5 stars.

Melbourne Medley

This week’s review takes on quite a different flavour to our usual foodie musings. Almost every guideline we’ve set ourselves for this blog has been thrown out the window on this occasion. If you’re hoping for a typical Rach and Dre commentary from the throbbing megalopolis of downtown Upper Hutt, this week may throw you into a tailspin!

Firstly, there are no less than FIVE venues rolled into one this week. Five times the thrill!

Secondly, these reviews are slightly beyond the borders of the Wellington region, and come to you from the hip and trendy streets of Melbourne. (Hopefully not too many readers make a habit of dining at the cafes we review the week after we publish – you may need a passport and a few days annual leave if you’re planning to recreate this culinary experience).

Thirdly (is thirdly an actual word? – it sounds quite funny after my fourthly jam donut – might be all that sugar) this is not a racey account of a romantic long weekend with the odd coffee thrown in. These eateries have been reviewed by Rachael on a girls weekend to Melbs for a very serious and important research project (shopping).

Please don’t expect any directions, addresses or general areas for any of these reviews. We have already previously established that I am completely unable to identify my left hand from my right, so all I can tell you us that each of the venues below are in Melbourne. (Australia. Not Melbourne in the USA or the UK in case there might be confusion)

TOP PADDOCK CAFE

I can tell you we caught two trams to this destination. One was a short ride and the other a little longer. That is the best I can get to where this cafe is.

This cafe was absolutely buzzing by 10.30, Friday morning. In fact this cafe was so popular we not only needed to wait to be seated, we needed to share a table with a group of strangers. Usually this would be on our no go list, however, we’re here to eat and shop so a collecting a few new friends along the way won’t hurt too much.

The menu was varied, catering to all tastes, and we were impressed to see gluten free options also available. We ordered a selection of delights ranging from blueberry and ricotta hotcakes to steak sandwiches and fries (apparently that counts as breakfast food when on holiday).

The cafe was fast paced, loud, busy, clean and full of Australians. The food was exceptional. The portions were a little on the large side but as we were planning to shop through as much of the day as possible we made short work of our delicious meals.

I really do need to mention the service at Top Paddock. Our waitress was probably the happiest person we have ever met. Even happier than Andre the day he married Rachael, so that’s saying something! (from Andre…NOBODY was happier than me that day Rach!)

OVERALL: 4 stars.

CAFE VICOLINO

After a couple of hours of wandering around the laneways and checking out the stunning graffiti art it was time to stop for a cuppa and a cake.

We found the cute Cafe Vicolino in one of the laneways and decided the cabinet food and smell of strong coffee was a good enough reason to stop here (funny that the coffee smell drew us in, as we all drink tea!) Small, dark, crowded. This cafe reminded us of the streets of Italy where you would pop in off the cobbled stones to a little tight space that seated only a few.

I have to admit we only ordered a cup of tea here. We had intended to order a cake but a cheeky side step into Hager’s Chocolate Shop for a free sample sated our desire for a sweet treat.

I can vouch for the service, however, and the tea was delicious. Relaxed atmosphere and great location for a cuppa and a natter.

OVERALL: 4 stars (hard to completely judge as we didn’t eat here)

THE LANGHAM

This is where our foodie review starts to level up. The main course so to speak.

High tea at the Langham Hotel.

Chandelier’s dripping with crystal’s, sweeping staircase, waiter’s in their formal black and white, matching china on the table, linen serviettes, subtle violin in the background, the chink of champagne classes and the chin chin of Melbourne’s elite.

Women dressed in their best, pearls, diamonds and jewels flashing, teetering on high-heeled Louboutins, and waves of heavy perfume competing with even heavier false eyelashes. (That was not us by the way – we were literally off the street looking for a sandwich and a dainty savoury to fill the gap).

While service at the Langham was a little sketchy, the food was delicious. Everything you would expect at an up market establishment, and more. I could spend hours describing each morsel but this review is getting a little long and I think the photos speak for themselves.

OVERALL: Four stars

THE LUI BAR

While this is not technically a cafe, I’m throwing the Lui bar into the mix. Mostly so you readers think we are a young and hip bunch of mums (I know we have mostly drunk pot loads of tea on this trip).

So we waited 40 minutes in the lobby before being called to the elevator. This exclusive bar is on the 54th floor. Like the Langham, the Lui Bar is filled with beautiful people (also teetering on high heels but probably mostly from the alcohol).

Ok. The details.

A cocktail costs $26. Yes – you read that. It’s not a typo. $26!! The seats are small and trendy (when I say small think sitting at your five years old parent/teacher interview, on their school chair!)

This place was pretty slick so I did level up my order and drank my sparkling water ‘on the rocks’. Yup, us mums can still cut loose when we want to!

OVERALL SCORE: 2 stars.

HOPETOUN TEA ROOMS

Our next destination brings us to Hopetoun Tea Rooms in the Block Arcade.

Think old English tea rooms with a Melbourne touch of class. The room is closely packed with elbow room only between each table which is no problem for us ladies who lunch, however, wheelchairs and pushchairs will be an issue.

We select our tea from a large list and settle in with lamingtons and vanilla slice (custard slice for our kiwi readers). If we could describe our treats in only three words we would say light, creamy and delicious.

There is no menu for the cakes as they change daily. Simply pick from the window (if you can!) then wait for the taste sensation to melt in your mouth. Hot tea, decadent cakes and superb service. What more could a gal need?

OVER ALL: five stars

Melbourne completely exceeded my foodie expectations. The presentation of meals, service and selection of eateries are absolutely world class. From street vendors to market stalls, from high street restaurants to arcade cafes, this has been my best food weekend ever! The only thing missing from Melbourne was my best mate, but I’m pretty sure this review will get him over the ditch soon enough.

OVERALL: Five stars.

Tussock Cafe

Massey University Wellington

Well, it seems like Andre’s wish for a “guest review” has finally been granted as this week your much anticipated fix of thoughts and experiences from the cafe culture come courtesy of one of Andre’s colleagues. (And no…this post is not sponsored by AA or Alliteration Anonymous!) It is with much delight, and some trepidation, that we coaxed a review from Shannon, who when not writing reviews is an outstanding Performing Arts specialist teacher. So here are Shannon’s thoughts…I’m sure you’ll agree she’s done a fine job!

One of these two people is named Shannon.

Tussock Cafe
Massey University, Entrance E, Tasman Street Central Wellington

Kia ora, I am the very privileged person who gets to write on the Kneepkens blog WOOP WOOP. I feel particularly honoured and hope I don’t let you wonderful people or them down. Well this is my blogging debut and I have to say I am a tad nervous.

It was a sunny Tuesday morning and us Techies (Tech and Arts department) were off to our final day of a conference. Our hungry early morning tums called out for coffee and kai. We thought we’d give Tussock, a cafe at Massey University a try. It’s situated behind a big grass area and lovely garden out front that you can see would be lovely in the summer time basking under the Wellington glorious sun, hopefully minus the wind. Walking inside you are pleasantly surprised with quite a large space with some funky and industrial looking decor. Concrete walls, copper piping, brown leather booths, metal pendant lights, spray painted mural and a range of tables and couches provides a nice relaxed and modern feel.

The menu had a variety of options and there was a large choice of cabinet food. The staff were friendly and we had extremely quick service. Andre and our colleague went for a coffee, I got some bacon and scrambled eggs and a mocha. Now the prices were greatly affordable with my meal costing $7 and the coffee being $4. For a quick bite to eat at an affordable price this is definitely a good place to go. The eggs weren’t the best and needed a lot of salt and pepper to be edible, the bacon was nice but the bread was flimsy, dry and not enough butter. I realise that $7 is such a good price for a meal and it’s catering to the mass amounts of uni students but I still would have expected the toast to be buttered at least further than a 50 cent coin and the eggs to be nicer than that. That being said, we enjoyed our coffee and were happy with the service and the speed. I would be tempted to try something else off the menu or from the cabinet as it looked yummy. Maybe this was just a dud meal to grab.

A fun thing they had was a spotify DJ station where you could add your own songs to the cafe playlist. That was something fun we hadn’t seen before and was quite a cool idea especially appealing to the uni students I would have thought.

A nice place to visit for a quick speedy drink and potentially alright food but I’d stay clear of the bacon and eggs.

Atmosphere 3 – Decor 3-4 – Food & Drink 2 – Service 4

Overall rating: 2.5 stars

FOOTNOTE: If you would like to submit a review for a cafe you’ve been to just send it to us (Facebook or email kneepka@gmail.com) And in case you’re wondering…no you don’t have to visit the cafe with either of us as company to do it!

Limelight Cafe

Upper Hutt

After last week’s epic road trip, we decided (our bank balance forced us) to look a little closer to home for our blog fodder. That and the fact we threw it out to our readers a few weeks ago, that we were holding a get together to celebrate reaching 1500 views on our blog.

At first we were worried that the ‘view count’ was in fact the two of us hitting the refresh button every four minutes, however, judging by the stats below, there seems to be a few readers from around the world too. For those of you concerned about privacy, there is absolutely no record of who views, just the country you are from. Rest assured, you can sneaky peek without us ever knowing.

We have posted a snapshot below of where our current readers are from. Not because we think this is relevant to this post, but because a bit like Seven Sharp, we sometimes need to fill a gap with useless information.

If you’re a regular reader, you may remember we kicked off our first blog post with an offer of a free coffee at Mitre 10 Mega in Petone. We were pretty stoked with the turn out on that occasion, when one reader (Rachael’s lovely mum) showed up in support of the launch. Imagine how happy we were today, when we not only doubled, but TRIPLED our numbers . Thank you Rachael’s mum, and this time Rachael’s kids Summer and Harry too!

So, our great meet and greet celebration was held at Limelight Cafe in Upper Hutt. You may be somewhat confused by this, as we had previously announced that it was being held at Expressions Cafe. As you are aware, directions such as left and right, North and South are meaningless to Rachael, and so it turns out, place names are too. If you googled Expressions Cafe and it came up with nothing, that would be because the cafe is connected to Expressions Art Gallery and is not actually the cafe (possibly why no one turned up).

Anyway, on to the actual food. Our orders this week were:
2 x Works breakfast which included: mushroom, tomato, kransky sausage, fried eggs (Harry) poached eggs (Andre) hash browns and toast.
2 x pancakes with cream, bacon, banana and maple syrup (Rachael and Summer)
Lemon slice (Nettie)
Chocolate milkshake
Flat white
EB tea
Bottle of sprite

We were all impressed with the friendly service, happy vibe and cosy atmosphere. The Limelight Cafe is attached to Expressions Art Gallery, which is currently showing a ‘Bugs’ exhibition (the garden variety, not the virus variety), so if you’re a bit of an adrenaline junkie and like to live life in the fast lane, this exhibition is probably not for you.

We did notice this is quite a popular cafe, and parking can be a little on the sparse side. It is right next to the public library and quite near to H2O Extreme swimming pool. If you’re anything like us, and would much prefer to wallow in a cup of coffee than several thousand litres of shared skin flakes and chlorine, then this cafe is in the perfect location to look like you’re heading to the pool but actually side step into cake and coffee bliss.

There was a general consensus among the five of us that this is a perfectly adequate cafe for a quick bite and a coffee. Andre felt his tomato was a little undercooked. We tried to argue that a fruit you generally eat raw couldn’t really be undercooked, however, Andre was feeling stubborn today and could not be budged. His exact words were “I prefer my tomato fully warmed through, not just lightly seared on top”. We considered sending it back, but in Heinz sight it wasn’t worth the effort.

HIGHLIGHTS

Summer: The chocolate milkshake was delicious
Harrison: Hash brown
Nettie: Spending time with my family
Andre: The kransky was delicious
Rachael: The English Breakfast tea was perfect!

Today is also a special day for all those Dads out there. Happy Father’s Day to all you wonderful men reading today.
Given that it’s Father’s Day, we can’t think of a better way to finish today’s post, than with a Dad joke. So here it is:

Q: What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday?
A: Aye matey!

OVERALL SCORE: 4 stars.

Quarter Acre Cafe and Bistro

Levin

Logs flickering on the fire, vegetable soup bubbling in the crock pot, the smell of baking bread wafting through the house, soothing tones of The Eagles playing on Youtube, on repeat, cat snuggled up on this fluffy $11 bed from Wish, gentle rain splattering the outside of our windows… so many reasons to stay at home today, with a cup of instant coffee and a tim tam. However, as none of the above remotely describes anything that was happening at our house, we decided to brave the wild winter weather bomb, and head out into the unknown for this weeks review.

We just happened to need to visit Levin today (a long story that involves two men, heavy lifting and a four wheel drive, but we won’t bore you with the details), so we decided to tie this in with a cafe lunch. We had no specific venue in mind, so decided to take a risk and find somewhere along the way.

We were completely unprepared for the extreme weather while heading ‘up the line’. Thunder, lightning, sheets of torrential rain and waves breaking over the side of the Pukerua Bay coast added an air of drama to our trip and highlighted the dedication we have to writing these blog posts each week. Ok… we may have slightly over dramatised the weather here, but it was raining, and there was one streak of lightning. We needed to amp this up a little so you can visualise the beacon of welcome and light that glowed from the side of the road, calling us into its haven of warmth and shelter.

This beacon of warmth and light came in the form of Levin’s Quarter Acre Cafe, which rose out of the gloomy depths of the Levin Highway, and enticed us inside for a quick meal and a flat white.

While there was ample parking outside, it quickly became apparent that this is a popular little noshery, and parking was at a premium. We did manage to nab a cheeky spot by the door, but this may or may not have required us to block the entrance to the outdoor seating area.

The inside of the Quarter Acre Cafe was beautifully decorated, the staff were welcoming and although the venue was filled almost to capacity, there was a peaceful ambiance in the air.

We were shown a table, given a slick menu which screamed ‘boutique’ (little choice and even littler portion sizes), and offered a bottle of still water. While there were only about six items to choose from, they did all sound delicious and we had a hard time deciding what to order. We both went for the sirloin steak, with mashed potatoes, mushroom sauce and winter vegetables (a nice descriptor, but there is little you can do to disguise carrots, beans and broccoli once it actually arrives).

Our flat white and EB tea arrived quickly and Rachael’s triple layer carrot cake, politely described as an entree by the waitress followed not too far behind. So far so good.

While we waited for our mains, we noted the following: no free wifi, there was a selection of cabinet food which looked delicious, the cafe was in fact an old homestead, with the covered verandah cleverly hosting around 20 tables, the venue was quite tightly packed so not wheelchair / pushchair friendly, the outside grounds were stunning and would be a huge draw card on a beautiful spring day.

We were impressed by the presentation of our meals and both were keen to taste these morsels of perfection plated in front of us. We did feel a little rude starting while the table next to us recited Grace, so in the interest of good manners, refrained for several minutes before digging in.

You may be starting to think at this stage, that all is going as planned and this is just a standard food review. The first mouthful, however, would prove otherwise. It would appear the Quarter Acre Cafe owners may have had ancestors tracing back to spice traders, as the amount of cracked pepper in the steak would have been enough to barter for a small farmlet on the outskirts of Manakau .

Our second surprise was the absolutely inedible steak – more than half was gristley and tough (that would be the half not covered in pepper). While the ‘winter vegetables’ were perfectly cooked, we could not manage to overlook the poor cut of meat.

We both completely disagree with our overall score this week. Andre can not move on from his meaty disappointment so is firmly sticking to 3/5, and feels like this score has been generously upgraded because of the delicious flat white. Rachael on the other hand, is sticking to a solid 5/5. Reasons for this include being offered dessert as an entree, the wine rack turned into a magazine stand and the symmetrical placement of the accoutrements on the table.

It’s not often we disagree, but this week we are at a stalemate. We could meet in the middle and award four stars, but neither of us is prepared to budge!

A couple of side notes:
If you’re free on Sunday 1 September, at 10.30am, we would love you to join us for a coffee at Expressions Cafe in Upper Hutt.

Many of you have asked the outcome of Andre versus Wilson Parking. Lets just say we have happily spent the $65 fine on today’s meal, and leave it at that.

Andre’s highlight: The coffee was hot, and the food arrived quickly.

Rachael’s highlight: Kitchen staff picking fresh lemons off the tree outside.

OVER ALL SCORE: Debatable.